iPad mini Shipping with Same 5 Watt Charger As iPhone

Since the announcement of the iPad mini, speculation surrounding the wattage of the charger has appeared online. Many users who pre-ordered the iPad mini were unsure as to whether Apple would be shipping the same 5 watt charger included with the iPhone, or if a 12 watt charger from a full sized iPad would ship with the thinner and lighter device. Many websites genuinely believed Apple would be shipping 12 watt chargers, despite the mini’s smaller size.

On Thursday, all of the speculation was addressed when Canandian site iPhoneinCanada.canoticed that Apple was actually shipping the same 5 watt charger seen with the iPhone. Following iPhoneinCanada’ s report, a MacRumors reader purchased an iPad mini from a local retailer and confirmed that the iPad mini was in fact shipping with the 5 watt charger.

The 12 watt charger is capable of charging the iPad mini much faster than the 5 watt one it is shipping with, however, devices such as the iPhone are only capable of drawing the 5 watt they are intended for, despite being attached to a higher watt charger.

With the iPad mini essentially running the same internals as the iPod touch, it is understandable that Apple is including only a 5 watt charger, although users still have the option to separately purchase a 10 or 12 watt full sized iPad charger.